Standard die tweaks for better results

[Finaddictions]

I’m not really following you. Once you push the expander down into the neck, don’t you have to pull it back out? Thus creating the problem again?

When you push the expander ball into the die you expand the neck on the push, so there’s very little resistance pulling it back through, so the necks are not pulled out of line.

 

[SDHNTR]

When you push the expander ball into the die you expand the neck on the push, so there’s very little resistance pulling it back through, so the necks are not pulled out of line.

Like a mandrel, I get that, but hasn’t the sizing die squeezed the neck down a lot, once the expander is pushed down past the neck?

 

[jeremy.b]

Like a mandrel, I get that, but hasn’t the sizing die squeezed the neck down a lot, once the expander is pushed down past the neck?

In this example you keep the expander ball low on the die so the case never engages the neck part of the die (since it's already been done on the first operation with the expander).

Also for what it's worth my dies without the expander ball only size to 5-6 thou neck interference which isn't terribly excessive. Now other dies could size significantly smaller I suppose.

 

[Finaddictions]

As mentioned here you don’t make a full stroke with the die. You’re only running the expander ball through the neck and then withdrawing it. Nothing more. If you run the case into the neck portion of the die all your work with the expander ball is now counterproductive.

 

[SDHNTR]

As mentioned here you don’t make a full stroke with the die. You’re only running the expander ball through the neck and then withdrawing it. Nothing more. If you run the case into the neck portion of the die all your work with the expander ball is now counterproductive.

Why does that make a difference? If you need to FL size the case anyway, I’m struggling to understand why the expander being worked just through the neck and back out with a shorter stroke (and the expander adjusted high on the decapping rod) versus dropped further into dead air within the case with a full stroke and then worked back though the neck, how that makes any difference. Either way, it’s the same diameter expander being worked through the same length neck, so same tension. Why does the length of stroke matter? What am I missing?

 

[Cahunter805]

Another tip is to drill out the seater stem especially if you are using VLD type bullets. Most of the time the stem is too shallow and the bullet tip touches the stem. Drill it out so the stem seats off the Ogive of the bullet.